Love Letters From Ladybug Farm - Donna Ball [36]
“Well, this is an informal wedding.”
“A destination wedding,” added Catherine thoughtfully. “Why yes, I suppose it is, isn’t it?” She became decisive. “I think you may be right. I’ll mention it to Traci, and if you could just have all the information ready for me to pick up this weekend when I’m out there, that will be soon enough.”
“Um, that’s three days.”
“That’s not a problem, is it?”
“No. Of course not.” Cici was doodling a long-haired female stick figure on the notepad, with spears sticking out of it at all angles.
“And we can finalize whatever little details we need to take care of then, too.”
“Sure. That will be fine.”
“Wonderful! So I’ll see you then. And when you make the list of hotels, do include all price ranges, will you? And see what you can find out about group rates. Thank you, darling! Bye-bye.”
“I’m not a travel agent,” Cici muttered when the line was dead.
Cici’s ex-husband, Richard, was an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles who made his living catering to the whims of the rich and famous. Getting through to him at his office was never an easy task, and Cici was not in a very good mood by the time she managed it. Richard, as usual, did not waste charm on her.
“Do you know what would make you happy?” he demanded, after giving less than an adequate opportunity to state her case. “I’ve finally figured it out, after all these years. What would make you happy is if Lori could have been hatched, like a turtle, and a father didn’t have to be involved at all.”
Cici said, “For God’s sake, Richard, I’m not asking you to abdicate your parental responsibilities, I’m just asking you to use them with a little more discretion.”
Richard’s voice sounded as though it were traveling the three thousand miles across country through a rock-lined tunnel to reach her. “Look, babe, I don’t know what you want from me. You won the war, okay? Lori is in Virginia, I’m in L.A. And now you want to bust my chops over a stupid webcam?” Then his tone changed. “Make these changes and print me out three copies, will you, sweetheart? And get MGM on the phone.”
Cici blinked. “What? What are you talking about, webcam? Am I on speaker? Will you for heaven’s sake focus? This is our daughter we’re talking about! And take me off speaker!”
A click, a sigh, a decided improvement in the sound quality. “Okay, okay, but make it quick, will you? I’ve got a meeting.”
Cici closed her eyes deliberately but didn’t even bother trying to count to ten. By the time she reached three, he would have assumed a bad connection and hung up. “Listen to me,” she said, very distinctly. “I want you to stop—and I mean right now—encouraging Lori with this trip to Italy thing.”
“What are you talking about? It’s an internship. It’s part of her education. Besides, I promised her a summer in Italy long before she transferred to the boonies. I’m just following through.”
“Exactly!” Cici pounced. “There was a man involved then, too, if you recall—a certain professor twice her age? I’m almost certain she’s developed a thing for some boy over there and that’s what this whole sudden passion for Italy is about. As far as the internship—it’s an internship she hasn’t even gotten yet, and even if she does get it... Come on, Richard! A twenty-one-year-old girl in an Italian castle for three months? What kind of education do you really think she’s going to get? So just stop making it easy for her, okay?”
There was a beat, just a beat, of silence. Then Richard said, in a voice heavy with disgust, “Will you just stop trying to control everyone for once, Ci? Can you do that, do you think? Let your daughter be a kid, let the university decide its curriculum, and let me get back to work. Can you just do that, Ci? Huh? Okay? Thank you.”
And before Cici could draw her next breath, she was listening to a dial tone.
She slammed the telephone down into its cradle on the wall, and it made a satisfying clack in the